/lit/ - Literature

>>22652655
This is my #1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategikon_of_Kekaumenos
But there is no English translation.
So I would say Xenophon's Anabasis.

>>22135129
Pretty important if you want to know which oracle to go to and for which purpose, which was of paramount importance to the ancient mind that consulted oracles on every significant and mundane decision. See the Anabasis by Xenophon which begins with Socrates telling Xenophon to go to Delphi and ask the oracle if he should join the army, and the army performing an augury sacrifice by the army's resident prophet officer each morning to decide if and where they should march.

>>20359169
The clouds of the satire are the intermediary demons. Perhaps read Xenophon to understand how Socrates and his school operated, what they believed, and their praxis. Socrates tells Xenophon to ask the oracle at Delphi before venturing on the expedition of the 10,000 and to obey the command that is received. The first duty is always to the gods (daemons) because they have control over all things, every important action must be undertaken under the advice of the gods through "the greatest of all good things" the madness of prophecy; every day the march of the army is determined by the signs of the animals that were sacrificed that morning in the augury ritual. When Xenophon speaks before the army, he sneezes mid-speech, and the entire 10,000 drop to a knee and say a prayer because to sneeze mid-speech is a sign your speech is blessed by the gods.

You're engaging with a strawman of a rationalist Plato that was constructed in the 19th century that simply never existed.

I can't believe these fuckers traveled such unbelievable distances, fought in battles, were often pursued by enemies, low on provisions, sleepless and tired, and still so many of them managed to get back to Greece in relative good physical and mental health.
What were the ancients made of?